an exclusive entire view with president obama thursday at 7:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. coming up right now, "the ed show," with ed schultz. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show," live from new york. let's get to work. we are gratified with the court's ruling today. >> now with bankruptcy imminent. >> breaking news out of detroit right now. >> no, no, not detroit! no! retirees marched in it front of the courthouse in protest. >> there are no surprises in that ruling. >> this was a difficult and painful decision. >> so business as usual in detroit. >> a chance, i think, to move forward with a clean slate. >> lots of misinformation surrounding this story. i'm setting the record straight here. >> have a human dimension, because there are pensions, retiree issue.

retirees, pensioners. >> citizens are customers. >> rick, have you ever heard the expression, the customer is always right? >> i don't look at -- >> the consequences could be devastating, if you care about people. >> you know, when i said i was very pleased, i very specifically stayed away from the, you know, word "happy." >> good to have you with us tonight. thanks for watching. what happened in detroit today is not american exceptionalism. something that the republicans and conservatives love to talk about all of the time. no, today is a failure. today is a managed failure. but i want to point out that this is the model. this is the conservative utopia i was telling you about this summer. we knew this day was coming. it's been manufactured all along. there has been no real effort to remedy the situation with jobs. it's just easier to surrender.

and oh, basy the way, we've goto blame workers along the way. if you worked for a company for 30 years, big company, let's pick a big company. xerox. general electric. comcast. you know, i'm right in the house. if you worked for a company that came to you and said i know that you've got this number in your retirement fund, but we're going to cut it in half, well, just because we have to. that's basically what has happened to the workers of detroit. why are they taking it out on the workers? is you mean to tell me there are so many obligations out there that they just have to undercut workers who have dedicated their lives to make detroit what henry ford once made it? i don't buy it. it is a sad day for the city of detroit, and it's a day that we are seeing democracy in america completely undercut. earlier today, a federal judge ruled that detroit is officially eligible for chapter 9

bankruptcy. it's the -- it's the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the united states. here's the engineer, right here. governor schneider. it is a major blow to public employees. it is a major blow to union workers. but it's also a signal to the rest of the country that, you know what, if you don't get your fiscal house in order, this is what's going to happen, because this is now the template. don't think that other governors aren't thinking this way. especially on the conservative side. you see, pension means you've paid into something, and benefits are going to be slashed by the city. assets are going to be sold off and privatized. oh, yes. privatization. that's, of course, what the republicans want to do with everything. in fact, public workers aren't worth a damn. in fact, if we can't make a dollar in america, we're not in good. what do you mean, services to the public? well, demonstrations took place

outside the federal courthouse today to protest detroit's bankruptcy. the people of detroit, they are not happy. they're upset by their vote being circumvented. now, what does that mean? well, you see, all these folks voted in local elections. that doesn't matter. because the governor came in with the strength of the state legislator and said, you know what, we're going to erase your vote. so actually, the last election these people were participating in, it was kind of a conditional thing. you know, if the numbers didn't work out, we're not going to give a damn how you voted. that's basically what has unfolded here. emergency city manager, kevin orr, will now take complete control of detroit. earlier today, the mayor, dave bing, said that it's a sad day for workers in detroit and the city. >> it's very, very important, i think, that we respect the fact that the emergency manager has the key to the city at this point in time. i know there are a lot of people that are upset, that are

concerned about their futures. but we are now starting from square one. it's a process that i think we need to take a lot of care, because there's going to be pain for a lot of different people. but in the long run, i think the future of the city will be bright. >> i offer to you tonight, this is unnecessary pain. there is a way out. kevin orr now holds the keys to the city of detroit. this guy, not an elected official, is apointed. he was hand-picked by republican governor rick schneider, to oversee detroit's bankruptcy. earlier today, orr said that pensions are going to be cut, and public workers, their pensions are going to be on the table. >> approximately 40% of every dollar that the city takes in the general fund goes to paying legacy dead. pension obligations, some of which are unfunded, are debt. that's just not sustainable. the reality is, there is not enough money to address the

situation, no matter what we do. that is clear. they have representation that we asked for, and the city is paying for. we pay for the retiree committee. so there are people there that can support and put forward their interest. but we're going to try to do this in a very measured and thoughtful way. but it has to be done. >> oh, mr. orr, you're only telling part of the story. roughly 30,000 retired workers are concerned about their pensions being cut. state law doesn't matter anymore. state constitution, hell, that's out the window. that doesn't matter anymore. governor schneider basically is getting absolutely everything he wants. city assets will be privatized and city workers will be taking a huge cut on their pensions. now, this is the systematic destruction of an american city with a great tradition in this country. it's a government coup without the violence. and it is completely unjustified and unnecessary. in the coming days, you're going to hear a lot from folks in the

media saying stuff like this. >> this is a one-party state, to be totally clear, right? there is no political diversity of any kind in detroit. >> certainly in the city of detroit. they haven't had a republican mayor in 250 50 years. >> detroit is not an example of the failure of gop economic policies. it's been run by the democrats for 60 years. >> a level of corruption and democrat rule, throw money at the problem oh, we're going to just do whatever the unions say. that's what led to the downfall of detroit. >> entitlements, pricey union benefits. look where it got detroit. >> let's be very clear about this. democratic policies are not the cause of detroit's downfall. republican policies did all of this. republican policies, when it comes to free trade, when it comes to outsourcing of jobs. when it gets to -- talking about getting rid of the manufacturing sector in that city, attacking labor. everybody makes way too much money in detroit and that's the problem.

low taxes. of course, we've got to cut taxes. but here's the catch. wi withholding state money from the city has helped crush the city of detroit. now, i don't know what city you live in. but let's just think about this. all of a sudden, your city, and you pay state taxes, you're not going to get any state funds anymore. oh, no, no, no. you live in who struck john usa. no, you don't get taxes anymore. the state legislature is holding the money from you so you have to suck it up. the numbers are pretty staggering. you've got deregulation of wall street, which has also hurt the pensions and when it came back, how much money did that go to the pension fund to help out oh? detroit lost roughly 300,000 jobs over the past 30 years. there is no way a city survives when it loses 90% of its manufacturing base. the tax base has eroded, along with public services and public safety. what's the result? people are getting the hell out of town.

severe outmigration. and those who are staying there are getting stuck with the bill. the city government of detroit didn't shop the jobs overseas. republican policies did. and anyone who is in denial of that is simply abyss to the facts. the city of detroit has lost 26% of its population since 2000. the property tax revenue has dropped 19.7% since 2008. this is pretty contemporary, folks. make no mistake, this is exactly what schneider and his republican friends wanted. now they can wipe the slate clean and start private advertising assets. many on the table, including artwork at the detroit institute of arts. banks, who own good homes in stable neighborhoods. well, they're tearing them down. and the long-time residents in these neighborhoods are naturally outraged. this is the systematic corporate

destruction of an american city with a mission to destroy public education, attack the voting block, attack the unions in detroit, and it has really been the focal point to privatize everything they can get their hands on. i have a jaded opinion in all of this. i actually believe in american workers. i believe that workers should not be sacrificed if there are policies and market forces that are having a big impact on a city. i believe that we have an obligation to workers. i want to throw some numbers at you tonight. i know, we've got numbers. but, you know, conservatives, they like numbers. $24 billion. that's the cost of the last shutdown. i haven't heard any conservatives in washington raise any problem with that at all. haven't heard anything about offsets. $24 billion? well, when it's their way, they throw around billion-dollar bills like they're $5 bills. that's what the shutdown cost. so i understand debt. okay? and i think everybody in america

has some level of debt in their life. $18 billion debt to the city of detroit, that's pretty hefty, no getting around that. no question about that. but when you have $66 million of state money that has been denied by this governor to the city of detroit, do you think maybe that $66 million could at least help make those pensions whole? well, they never saw the money. it was denied to the city. the total since 2002 is $167 million. let me ask you, is that the way you would like to run your city? is there an element of fairness in this at all? oh, by the way, i better mention that schneider has thrown in $250 million, because they certainly have to make the hockey team, the detroit red wings, really happy. god forbid if they were to make a rich nhl owner pay for his own damn facility. but that's kind of how it goes in america. you have this public and private

municipalities and owners of teams get together and they build these monuments of sports and everything else. and certainly -- it's okay. we'll put the $250 million to the hockey arena -- we'll stick it to the workers. you know, those cops who are on the street for 30 years? you know those garbage collectors? you know anybody in the role of a city? is that fair? you mean to tell me that there's -- that if they're going to do this in detroit, they at least can't find some way to figure out, we are going to honor the pensions of everyone. because they've earned it. and we're going to get some state money to do it. no, they're not going to do that. they're on the fast track. they don't want this story in the media. they don't want it talked about. the last resort is what? i guess the people may be now taking it to the next legal level to appeal it. maybe protest. maybe the next election. oh, wait a minute, they circumvent elections in michigan. this doesn't have a real good endi

ending, does it? tonight's question. did conservatives get exactly what they wanted with detroit's bankruptcy? text a. for yes, b. for no to 67622. go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. i understand cuts. and i understand business. this isn't a business. this is a city. these are people. these are families that grew up in communities. and they have been undercut by radical conservative policies, and they have been denied their fair share of state funds. and now who is going to pay the price? well, it's not going to be the companies. it's going to be the workers. there is a real element of unfairness here. for more, let me bring in dr. wendell anthony, president of the detroit branch of the naacp, and lee gatees, detroit homeowner, working to save homes in his neighborhood. gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. >> hi, ed. >> yes, sir. dr. anthony, you first. is this a serious erosion of democracy?

i mean, why did they have any elections in detroit? >> well, ed, you called it. your narrative laid out the situation in detroit. it obviously is a reduction and elimination of democracy. that's why we are in fact still pursuing our lawsuit through the naacp. we do not believe that this filing of bankruptcy and granting of it was necessary. it was premature. even judge rhodes in his ruling agreed with us that it was not done in good faith. that it was done, rushed, 30 days was not enough time. but he also indicated that they filed a petition in good faith. you know, my grandmother used to give us cash when we were coming up, and then peppermint afterwards to take away -- to deflect the taste. mr. orr today gave us some peppermint, knowing he has taken away the democratic process through this bankruptcy. he and governor schneider. and let me say to the nation that's looking at detroit as if somehow it's some unique

situation. stay tuned. it's coming to your community next. when you look at the 125 cities around this nation that are at the brink of bankruptcy, detroit is the case model for that. there was also, ed, another report that was done by the think tank which portrayed and gave evidence that the finding of bankruptcy of detroit oh was premature. that there were alternatives that could have been held. i encourage people to get that. we are not in this situation uniquely. chicago is there. minneapolis is there. l.a. is there. cincinnati is there. >> you believe, dr. anthony, this will be the model. >> it is the model, ed, because everybody and his mama and daddy were waiting to see what's going to happen in detroit. >> mr. gatees, let me ask you. what does this ruling mean for average citizens like yourself in the city of detroit? >> ed, as a taxpaying resident

of detroit, you know, i am paying for services. what this ruling means, number one, is that detroit will maybe move forward with dealing with the structural deficit through chapter 9 bankruptcy. but as the court ruling showed, it was rushed into bankruptcy. governor schneider did not use bankruptcy as a last-ditch effort to save detroit. he used it as a first-ditch effort to make sure his buddies on wall street get paid first. the banks are at the front of the line, with their hand out, looking for the money that detroit generates. detroit is not broke. detroit generates nearly $2 billion in revenue in tax revenue every year. not only that, the governor had his eye on the pension fund, since he got into office. so, you know, for us, we pay taxes, because we want services. kevin orr does not understand how to deliver that service. he does not understand how to run a city. he understands how to take companies through bankruptcy. >> yeah. >> and if anybody thought that

anything but bankruptcy was going to be the outcome when jones day and kevin orr is there, and then they hire all the consultants that come in from wall street, myers brinkerhoff gobbling up $5 million a month in tax revenue from the citizens of detroit and not putting a police officer on the street, not putting a firefighter in a firehouse, and not putting anymore lights on in the city, i say that we are being taxed without getting the services. it's taxation without representation for the citizens of detroit, because we no long other have elected officials calling the shots. we have kevin orr, emergency dictator, calling the shots for the citizens of detroit. >> well, obviously emotions are very high right now. this is a bad move for america. it's a bad model for america. and we'll come back and revisit the story for what is next for detroit. i don't know what the up side is. they're taking, they're going to take money away from people who have worked for the city for

years. all of a sudden, they're the problem. i think they're going off the voting block, i think there is race involved here. i think this is about going after unions and collective bargaining and setting up a new model for all cities to recreate the way they want to privatize things around america. this is the conservative utopia. this is what it is all about. reverend doctor wendell anthony and lee gaddees, we will revisit the story. i appreciate your time tonight. thanks so much. remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of your screen. share your answer on ed show and facebook. we appreciate what you do there. coming up, scott walkers thinks he's tops. your kids' christmas list. plus, working hard or hardly working? wait until you hear how many days congress works this year and what their plan is for 2014. stay with us. every day we're working to be an even better company -

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time now for the trenders. social media network on "the ed show." facebook.com/edshow. twitter.com/edshow. and ed.msnbc.com. on the radio, sirius x m 127. find out more at wegoted.com. social media nation has decided and we are reporting. here are today's top trenders, voted on by you. ♪ you're a mean one mr. grinch ♪ >> the number-three trender. gift of gov. >> what do you want for christmas, little boy? >> scott walker says he's the greatest gift you could give your kids this christmas. >> i want it right here. with a big ribbon on his head. >> he expanded a taxpayer finance school voucher program at the expense of public schools. >> it's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year. >> he cut $1 billion out of the

education budget, fired teachers. >> ho, ho, ho! >> no! >> the number two trender. pipe dream. >> starring that supersonic speedster, rocket j. squirrel. >> a curious puppy learned the hard way, the squirrel always wins. >> squirrel! >> a poor pooch gets stuck chasing a squirrel. >> while the squirrel made it through the pipe, the dog, as you see, did not. >> get your fat head out. >> veteran narrons were able to safely remove his head from the pipe. >> and today's top trender. vacation days. >> sorry, folks, we're closed for two weeks. >> what? >> the do-nothing congress got 239 days off this year. >> the united states' congress remains in recess. >> lawmakers are not hard at work. they're on vacation. >> what would you say you do here? >> saw members of congress oven joig august recess. but 82% of voters say they

didn't work hard enough to deserve their vacation. >> the current congress could go down as one of the most unproddive in modern history. joining me tonight, congressman tim ryan of ohio who certainly wants to work at least 239 days a year. i know this gentleman. congressman, good to have you with us tonight. you know, is there -- you and i have been friend for a while. is there any way you can come forth with a bill so i could get 239 days off and still keep my job? you know, the irony in this is that the republicans always talk about the private sector. they think the private sector is the answer for absolutely everything. i would like to know who would keep their job in the private sector with 239 days off. what is happening here? >> well, first of all, ed, we want to make sure you're working as much as possible to get your message out. but, you know, the bottom line is, you know, we do work hard when we're back in our districts. there is no question about it. we do -- my office, we do a lot of economic development issues, working with local businesses, and trying to expand the

economy, education programs and what not. so -- but the reality is, this schedule looks nothing like the nancy pelosi speakership schedule that we used to have. i mean, we were working four or five days a week, week after week after week. passing legislation, getting things done. so the only thing that concerns me more than us not being here is the fact that when we are here, we're not getting anything done. like the end a bill and other things we should be passing here. we're not doing anything while we're here. >> speaker boehner says that they're there to prevent bad laws from getting passed. what's your response to that? >> well, i mean, look at the -- employee oh nondiscrimination act bill. we haven't even acted upon that. you know, that's a good piece of legislation that supports the founding principles of our country, but no time to act on that. we need a transportation bill. to get people back to work, reinvest back into the united states. we need a budget, for god sake,

and we can't even getting a budget passed out of the house when the senate has wanted to meet on numerous occasions. >> this is all part of the republican obstruction to make sure they don't get anything done, isn't it? >> yeah, no question about it. you've got the tea party in the house of representatives, and their sole purpose here is to burn down the government. and that means sometimes through attrition, and not acting. and letting things, you know, just kind of wither on the vine. and that's what's happening down here. so they're achieving their goal. >> and so the schedule for 2014, end, is like 114 days of work, is that right? >> yeah, something like that. yeah. and so much needs to be done. i mean, look at this in relation to where we are, positioned historically in the united states. the competition around the klobuchar globe is like it's never been before. the inequality is about as inequal as it's ever been in our country's history, yet we are still not here in washington, d.c. acting upon those issues. >> so shouldn't this be a huge

point being made by democrats in the campaign of 2014? boehner doesn't even want to work. all he wants to do is play golf. he talks about the president playing golf. the numbers are the numbers. 239 days off. how often can you go back into your district -- i mean, come on. you've got to feel for your district. so does everybody else. this is being manufactured by the conservatives to stop everything that president obama would like to see passed. >> no question. as much as our constituents back home want to see us in the district at the grocery store involved in local projects, they want us to be in washington, d.c. making things happen on behalf of the country. no matter what little project you may be able to do back in your district, if the weight of the federal government, if the developments, the budget, the kind of gravitas the federal government could bring to projects isn't there, it's hard to get things off the ground. and you're exactly right. like i said, when speaker pelosi was in office, we worked hard -- >> 240 bills passed, i believe. >> 240 bills.

everything from lilly led better to universal health care and everything in between. an energy bill came out of the house. we were working hard. we took some hits along the way, but that's your job. you get elected to do things and then take the hits and hope they work out. >> all right. ohio states to number two. michigan state this weekend. if you beat michigan state and some think that's a big if should you play for the national championship? >> i hate to sound like a coach. we've got a big game this week and we're going to stay focused on michigan state. >> tell 'em to play every play, will you? i mean, we kind of saw that this week. >> well, we win this one, no doubt we should be there. no doubt. >> congressman tim ryan -- >> no auburn too, big ed. >> thank you, tim. tim ryan from ohio with us here on "the ed show" tonight. thank you. joining us coming up, the white house and its allies are going on offense for obama care. but i'm questioning what offense. still ahead, vice president joe biden in asia, pushing the

agenda that has american workers very nervous. and all they're talking about is a fly zone. we'll get into that. but next, i'm taking your questions, "ask ed live" just ahead. stay tuned. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. thrusters at 30%! i can't get her to warp. losing thrusters. i need more power. give me more power! [ mainframe ] located. ge deep-sea fuel technology. a 50,000-pound, ingeniously wired machine that optimizes raw data to help safely discover and maximize resources in extreme conditions. our current situation seems rather extreme.

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okay. here we go. welcome back to "the ed show." "ask ed live." love this segment. first question tonight comes from -- i believe that's regina reginald. should members of congress be drug tested? yes. i'm there. but i think they ought to be drug tested before the election. so we know exactly what we're paying for. because we're finding out in the last segment they're sure at heck not working. let's at least make sure they're not doing drugs. yeah, i'm for this. truck drivers get tested. many jobs in america that you're applying for you have to take a drug test. so why not? i mean, they're only making our laws, you know -- yeah, i do. i think they should be drug tested. i think they should be drug tested before the election, as

well. our next question is from debby roy. she wants to know, what do you think about all the snow fargo is getting? well, i guess the northern tier is getting kind of blasted right now. but i am officially announcing tonight that i have retired from shoveling snow. too bad. although the north country is beautiful when it gets snow this time of year. but you know, i might have a heart attack broadcasting. but i ain't never going to get one shoveling snow. stick around "rapid response panel" is next. i'm seema mody with your cnbc market wrap. the dow sinking 94 points. s&p 500 losing 5. and the nasdaq down 8. u.s. auto sales showing gains in november thanks to big discounts. chrysler out front, jumped 16%. gm rose 14%. and ford up you 7%. home prices edged up .2% in october. that's an increase of 12.5% from a year ago. and apple shares rose after a ubs analyst upgraded it to buy and raise its price target.

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welcome back to "the ed show." after weeks of republican attacks against the botched obama care rollout on october 1st, the white house and its allies, well, they're gearing up. they're going to go on offense. what kind of offense? that's my question. the white house announced plans to highlight a new benefit of the affordable care act every day from now until the december 23rd enrollment deadline for january 1st coverage. okay. once a day we're going to get something new. there's a number of things really good. that's great. earlier today, president obama kicked off his latest push, and asked americans to help him spread the word. >> i'm going to need some help in spreading the word. i need you to spread the word

about the law, about its benefits, protections, about how folks can sign up. tell your friends. tell your family. do not let the initial problems with the website discourage you. >> okay. now, this, of course, is going to turn into an all-out messaging war, just how good are the democrats going to be at this. which is exactly why talk like this has to be countered. >> remember, before the affordable care act, these bad apple insurers had free reign every year to limit the care you received or use minor preexisting conditions to jack up your premiums or bill you into bankruptcy. so a lot of people thought they were buying coverage and it turned out not to be so good. >> if he really wants to go on offense, president obama needs, in my opinion, to tell it like it is about those bad apple insurers. they are selling substandard junk insurance. but for -- there just seems to be a great deal of reluctance on

the part of the democrats and their messaging war, and on the white house, especially, and the president himself. there is nothing wrong with determining -- not offending anybody but using the term "junk." because if people are paying for something and there is a bunch of fine print in there, that's exactly what it is. it's junk. and calling it junk insurance and identifying the junk insurance industry is what this is all about. if you want to win the messaging war. you have to convince people that what they have been buying in the past doesn't work anymore. so now we have these standards. we have quality put into the system. and yes, in some cases, people are going to pay a willlittle b more, but at least they're going to be getting something for it. call it what it is. joining me now, rapid response panel, nationally syndicated columnist, connie schultz and eugene robinson. connie, you first. good to have both of you with us tonight. we're in this messaging war now. connie, what poisoned ohio? what is -- when the white house

says they're going on offense, what's your interpretation of that? >> well, i'll tell you. i understand your point about junk insurance and emphasizing that. but i'm a big believer in the power of story. and i am happy to see the president owning this narrative, because it is a story to be told. i watched that news conference -- it wasn't a news conference -- live today. the story that most stuck with me was about a mother in ohio with her 23-year-old daughter who was -- in cancer treatment for the second time, and because she could stay on her mother's insurance, a prescription that would have cost $4500 was only $25. that was -- the amount of the deductible. that is a very powerful story, and i can remember not that long ago writing columns about how the number of free clinics in ohio had doubled over a very short period of time. because we had so many people, working people, who had jobs and no health care insurance, no affordable health care. so i think there is strength in numbers. and the numbers being the individual stories of people who are going to be benefitting from this law. this major reform.

>> i totally agree with you. i do believe that is a big part of the strategy to tell these stories, and the actuality is golden in the news business, so to speak. eugene robinson, i'll ask you the same thing. what does it mean when the white house says they're going on offense? >> well, you know, i think connie is absolutely right. i do think narrative is really powerful. in most circumstances. but certainly in explaining the benefits of the law. i also think that the point that the president keeps making, and i think just needs to make again and again is that the old system didn't work. people faced a choice between putting food on the table or paying for health care. that's not what we do in the -- what america should be. that's not what you do in a humane and civilized country. and i think he needs to hammer that again and again. you could use the word junk for

junk insurance. but there is this issue with the insurance company. this plan actually depends on working through and cooperating with the insurance companies and there are people who debated whether or not it should be, you know, flat out single payer or not. that was years ago. and you and i might have been on the same side of that. but we didn't win it. >> so it's probably not good for the white house to take the cable approach and be a little bit more arrogant about the whole thing and call it junk insurance and then have to go into the room and work with these guys. is that what you're saying? >> i'm saying very frankly, you know, if they want to sabotage this thing, and if they, for example, want to say, oh, we're getting nothing but junk out of the website, we're not getting the right names and addresses of our new insured people, this thing is a mess. you know -- now, that's kind of far-fetched, because, in fact, they do have a lot of money invested in this at this point. so they're pulling for it to succeed too. but they're kind of on the same team. >> connie, do you think that vote voters, consumers, the

american people want to hear about this? >> i do. and i think that they're really tired of angry talk. they want to hear the stories of how this is helping people. you know, i keep hearing these stories and thinking about -- ed, you and i are not that far apart in age. i came from organized labor. my father was a utility worker, a union member. utility workers, local 270. health care saved my life. i was diagnosed with severe asthma and almost died twice in my late teens. he had affordable health care. he had access to the cleveland clinic. we lived in a small town, drove to the cleveland clinic regularly and i'm alive today to talk about it. the baby boomer generation, we remember when health care was -- it was understood that most americans would have access to it. and we need to call on that memory, as we're sharing the stories now. because that's what america was supposed to be. that's what it was supposed to look like. and that's how we were supposed to treat our fellow americans. i think when you ask about voters, certainly here in ohio, i hear so much frustration,

exhaustion, really, with all of the bitterness. and they do want to hear the success stories. and we've got to quit using the word disaster when we talk about the rollout. it had a lot of missteps. it's also major reform we're bringing into play. >> and the rollout is not now. i mean, the rollout is history. it's where we are right now. and i thought we were in the now business. i mean, when you go into the doctor and he says you're sick, she says you're sick, you're all of a sudden in the now business on getting well. and i can guarantee you, from personal experience, insurance does make you a believer. there is no question about that. it makes you a real believer. jeanne, what about congressional democrats, how can they get on board to make this effective? do they make this the central part of re-election campaign in 2014? >> i think increasingly, they do. i think now that they have seen we're in the now business and now that they see the federal website works well enough, and will continue improving. but it's working, now i think

they're more willing to tell the stories of what's happening in a lot of states, for example, that are doing really well, to tell those stories of individual people. and to own obama care. because, guess what? they were going to own it anyhow. you can't play defense and expect to even keep the senate let alone take the house. they're going to have to go on offense, and they own this. >> they got to own it. they've got to own this news cycle the next few months. the website is only going to get better. the report yesterday was that they had over 1 million people who were able to function through the website. that's a heck of an improvement. connie schultz, eugene robinson, great to have you on "the ed show." thanks so much. >> thanks, ed. coming up, mike huckabee, the wannabe lands in pretenders tonight. [ "i'm only human" plays ] humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans.

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air. i wonder if the listeners will tell the difference. now he has the likes of sarah palin as an all american quitter. kind of going around on the conservative front. they seem to quit everything. huckabee found out he actually has to work for a living doing a three-hour radio show. if mike huckabee wants us to believe he's a real radio guy, he can keep on pretending. and fashionable... especially in my line of work. now do you have a little lemonade stand? guys, i'm in fashion! but i also need amazing tech too... like active park assist... it practically parks itself. and what color would you like? i'll have my assistant send you over some swatches... oh... get a fusion with 0% financing for 60 months, plus $500 ford credit holiday bonus cash during the ford dream big sales event. every day we're working to and to keep our commitments. and we've made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. through all of our energy operations,

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welcome back to this "ed show." this is the story for the folks

who take a shower after work. i think every american needs to pay attention to this deal. vice president joe biden is on a three-nation tour of northeast asia pushing the agenda of the tpp. biden who comes from a working class family whose father sold used cars has always been a friend of labor. and he should be against this deal. so should the white house, in my opinion. all of the negotiations of the tpp have been behind closed doors in a cloud of secrecy, but we do know the deal verifies multinational corporations control over the united states economy and we should not be handing over u.s. sovereignty to foreign corporations and trade deals. it is bad for american workers, period. opposition to the tpp is also fierce in japan. about 3,000 demonstrators mostly farmers rallied at a tokyo park during biden's visit. they say a deal would be a major blow to japan's aging farming community. if this deal passes, it would be the largest free trade agreement

in american history besides the united states. japan, the tpp negotiating nations include australia, brunei, canada, chile, malaysia, new zealand, peru, singapore, and vietnam. and most recently south korea expressed its interest in joining the tpp talks. this trade partnership is dangerous for american workers. i think it's a job killer and there is really no upside for american workers. and i think i have to fairly point out that i think that this white house has been inept when it comes to explaining to the american people and to american workers where's the upside. leo gerard is the president of the united steel workers of america. there are some members of congress i believe 160 democrats and some republicans who have signed on to a letter to the president saying this is a bad deal. does this trip by joe biden, the vice president, mean that this

deal is going to happen? >> i don't know if the deal's going to happen, ed. i know there's a lot of opposition to it in the congress. there's a lot of opposition in other countries. let me make this point. since the passage of nafta, there has not been a trade deal that's been negotiated that has turned out to be net job benefits for america. and what we've done is have a series of accumulated trade deficits. and i put this question to congress. i put this question to the administration. i would put this question to vice president biden. if having a huge trade deficit is good economic policy, why doesn't germany want one? why doesn't france want one? why doesn't china want one? why doesn't japan want one? none of them want a trade deficit. the country with the largest trade deficit on the planet is america. and this is going to ask american workers to compete with workers in brunei, with workers in vietnam. that just can't happen. and i think this is going to be

a bad deal. and there are issues in that deal. what do we do about state-owned enterprises? we're going to compete against a country, company against a country? what are we going to do about currency manipulation? all of these things are in the competitive market. this is a bad deal being negotiated in secret. i'm glad you're exposing it. >> explain where president obama is on this. he has stated that he wants to get fast tracked before the end of the year. >> i don't think we can give them fast track. these kind of trade deals -- let's back up a bit. these are treaties between countries. and a treaty should come to congress. they tried to bypass congress by having so-called fast track. they cut congress right out of the deal. and i want my congress person whether it's a he or a she, i want her or him to fight for jobs in this country. when you cut them out, who's going to have the say at the table?

multi-national corporations and financiers. >> it is not good for workers in the middle class. no doubt. the addition of south korea, their intention to get involved in the pact. your take on that? >> we already have a deal in south korea and see the results of it. since we signed the deal in south korea, the trade deficit with america for south korea has quadrupled. korea could then take parts and send the cars to us in the deal. as a domestic created vehicle. for the other 70%, they can get their parts from brunei. they can get their parts from vietnam. they can get their parts -- but still call it a south korean vehicle. >> why hasn't the administration explained the upside to workers? >> i think they can't because there is no upside.

to net job loss for american workers. and the pressure to drive wages down. >> okay. leo gerard, good to have you with us tonight. that's "the ed show." i'm ed shultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts now. good evening, rev. >> zboogood evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, america has turned a corner. the website is working. people are signing up and the reality of affordable health care is coming to people all across this country. >> the bottom line is this law is working and will work into the future. about half a million people across the country are poised to gain health care coverage through market places and medicaid beginning on january 1st. some for the very first t